Metal Sniper: Secret Agent Tarot
by Blade the Cyborg
Summary: Sniper is the little brother of the former Metal Sonic known as Shard. When the attempt to keep him hidden fails and he suffers critical damage, he is brought back to full activation as Agent Tarot of the Secret Freedom Fighters. However, he is often on separate tasks to the team unless he is needed. When he meets Cheryl... he realises he has something to fight for.
1. Prologue

**This may not be related to my 'Robotnik Name' series, but from day one of the sequel, Sniper craved his own story! He needs the FULL spotlight! Yes, that's right – Sniper's got his own story! Here it is and I hope you like it!**

**PS: I only own my OCs within this story, the rest is owned by SEGA!**

_**Metal Sniper: Secret Agent Tarot**_

**~Prologue~**

Sniper, a silver hedgebot, aged eleven, was sat in a tree within the forest near Mobotropolis. He had no real place anymore. Not after his brother's incident at Mount Mobius. His last memory of Metal was when he hugged him, flying off to test and taunt Sonic. When he ended up destroying himself… Sniper was lost. Robotnik found him and tried to destroy him, knowing he also had freewill, but Sniper got away. Ever since… he was alone. And here he was now, in a tree, outside the city where his brother's Mobian counterpart lived – he was ready to get revenge now.

"Dance to the beat, wave your hands together, come feel the heat forever and forever, listen and learn, it is time for prancing, now we are here, we're Caramelldansen! Ooh, ooh, ooh-a, ooh-a…" Sniper sang. Clearly he was tired of waiting for Sonic to run out of the city. He had already been waiting for about half an hour, so decided to make a rather foolish choice – he flew into the city.

Instantly Sniper was noticed. Of course, not many robots lived in Mobotropolis. In fact, none did. Not like Sniper, anyway – or so he thought…

Civilians felt threatened when seeing the chrome robot fly in fast. They panicked, running around like startled ants. For a moment Sniper was proud, for once not feeling like he was at the bottom of the pile. He could then see Sonic speeding towards him, grinning a little, presumably excited to fight for once.

"Look, I don't know who you are or why you're here, but from what I can see right now, you look like some kind of a threat!" Sonic began once he stopped a few feet away from Sniper.

"Oh, yeah? Well, watcha gonna do about it, Sonic?" Sniper asked him as if to taunt him.

"I'm gonna send you to the scrap-heap, that's what!" Sonic retorted, running before jumping up, performing a homing attack.

Sniper was unprepared for this move, being knocked down hard. "What the heck! I didn't know you were _that _fast!" he panicked.

Sonic smirked. "Didn't know you were that slow," he responded, running towards him at top speed, stopping in front of his grounded opponent. "Already had enough?"

"Hell no!" Sniper answered in a snappy tone of voice, jumping back up to his feet and aiming at Sonic with his built-in arm lasers. "I'll never give up until I finish you!"

"Heh. Like you have any chances of beating me in a fight," Sonic snickered.

Sniper growled at him angrily, his irises blaring. He fired some laser shots at the blue blur, but each shot was avoided.

"Is that all you've got, bolt-brain?" Sonic questioned, grinning.

Again Sniper snarled, enraged. He was aware that his chances of winning were low, but he didn't want to accept that. After all, this hedgehog _killed _his brother. He went for another attack. "I'm not going to be done until you are dead!" he yelled in a way which sounded heroic.

"Gee, you really are eager, aren't you?" Sonic muttered. "Well then, metal-head, bring it on! Let's see if you can hit a moving target!" The blue hedgehog ran around him at high speed, causing Sniper to get dizzy as he tried watching him. His head spun a little, until finally he grabbed it to hold it still, his pixel eyes wandering oddly.

"How about if I hit a sitting duck instead?" he requested.

Before the hedgebot got his answer, Sonic spin dashed into him all of a sudden, managing to cut into the back of Sniper. Sniper whirred awkwardly, his eyes fizzing as he jittered until he finally decided to fly upwards, no longer in range of the attack.

"Hey, dumb-bot, why don't ya come down here and fight like the other robots do!" Sonic insulted.

"Because I have a very unique way of fighting!" Sniper yelled down to him as an answer.

"For a killing machine you sure are a coward!" Sonic mocked, laughing.

Sniper growled, flying down towards Sonic and attempting to grab him. However, Sonic jumped on his head, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get up, Sonic put his foot on his head.

"You may as well just give up – you're not exactly a challenge," Sonic admitted, sounding tired of fighting Sniper.

Sniper tried pushing himself back up, but was unable to due to Sonic standing on his head, keeping him down. He fell back onto his front after he had attempted to push himself up, yet still was determined to win. "No… I… will not… be beaten by you!" he choked. "Not after… what you did… to my brother!"

"Huh. Almost sounded like you had emotions then," Sonic acknowledged. "Never encountered a robot which actually had some kind of personality – except for Metal Sonic. He had a personality of his own."

Upon hearing his brother's name, Sniper tried getting up again, this time with more anger coursing through his wires. He almost succeeded, but was still pinned down by Sonic's foot. That's when Sonic figured it out.

"Wait a minute, your "brother" is Metal Sonic, isn't he?" he asked angrily.

"You left him in Mount Mobius to die!" Sniper exclaimed.

"That's not exactly what happened," Sonic corrected. "He sacrificed himself. Besides, Metal Sonic is no longer…"

Sniper interrupted him by grabbing his foot and throwing him over, managing to rise back to his feet. "I know he's no longer around! Because you killed him!" he hollered, flying towards his opponent. Sonic roundhouse kicked his face, knocking him down again.

"I didn't destroy him! He destroyed himself!" the blue hedgehog yelled at Sniper, irritated.

"Liar!" Sniper accused, flying towards him again.

"I'm trying to tell you that he's – gurgh!" Again Sonic had been interrupted when Sniper shot him down with a laser shot.

"I've had enough of you!" Sniper announced, walking over to Sonic, now feeling superior since the blue speedster was on the ground. The metallic hedgehog then aimed at him, charging another laser attack. "It's time to put an end to your robot-trashing days!"

However, before Sniper could fire to finish off his creator's long-time nemesis and older brother's counterpart, a weighted rope tangled around his ankles, then another one around his body, causing him to fall over onto his back. Sniper struggled to escape them, growling loudly with rage.

Sonic looked, seeing Rotor holding the gun which fired those ropes, Tails standing beside him.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Tails asked, running up to Sonic.

Sonic got to his feet. "I'm fine," he answered, dusting himself off. He then looked at Sniper.

"I'll see if I can do something with this 'bot in my lab," Rotor informed.

"Uh… Hey, look, a distraction!" Sniper responded, trying to wriggle away like a worm. Nobody fell for the trick. Rotor picked the young robot up, since he wasn't getting anywhere fast. As a reaction, Sniper stood out his silver tongue rudely.

"This one sure does have an attitude," Rotor confirmed. "Especially for one of Robotnik's robots."

"Just see if you can tinker with him a little, Rote," Sonic commanded. "He might have some useful information lying around in his main computer thingy."

Rotor nodded, heading off with the unstill Sniper.

Once the two were gone, Tails looked at Sonic again. "What was that robot, anyway?" he asked.

"I don't know everything, but I learnt one thing – he's the brother of the original Metal Sonic," Sonic answered. "I think he came after me for revenge, but he didn't give me a chance to explain that Metal Sonic is still alive."

…

Metal Sonic 2.5, now known as Shard, was sat on a tree stump reading a book. He was being bugged by a fly, which at first he tried to ignore, but now realised how annoying it was.

"Gr! Would you just go away already? Go! Shoo!" Shard demanded, swatting his cannon-arm around, using his hand to hold his book. The fly then landed on his nose, and without realising it, Shard hit himself in the face. Even worse – the fly flew away, not being hit at all. Shard frowned.

Nicole, an artificial intelligence projected in the form of a lynx, appeared standing beside him. "Shard, Mobotropolis just got attacked," she began. "A robot – one of Eggman's – was attacking, but Sonic managed to defeat it and now it's in Rotor's lab."

"Then we should be fine," Shard concluded. "Mobotropolis is safe, the robot's probably gonna get reprogrammed… All is good."

"That's not the point," Nicole countered. "This robot is not just any simple badnik. It's…"

"Stronger than me? Smarter than me? Cooler than me? I don't think so," Shard snickered.

"No, Shard…"

"I bet it was another imitation of Sonic, right?" Shard continued.

"Shard, if you just let me explain then…"

"Or maybe for once Eggman decided to make a robot of someone else," Shard carried on interrupting.

"Shard!" Nicole shouted to get his attention.

Shard looked at her. "Sorry," he apologised.

"Shard, this badnik is one we know that you have links with," Nicole explained. "It's Metal Sniper, your brother."

"Sniper?" Shard asked, sounding surprised.

…

Sniper stood in a glass capsule with wires attached to him, mainly at the back of his head. Rotor was on a computer by the capsule, taking a look at Sniper's data and files.

"Music folder?" the walrus eventually questioned, raising his brow in confusion.

"It's easier than having an iPod," Sniper shrugged.

Rotor rolled his eyes, continuing to search. He eventually found a folder containing all the information about Sniper, named: "Profile". The handy-man walrus decided to check Sniper's profile within this database.

_**Project: Metal Sniper**_

_Project Custom Name: Metal Sniper Cyrus Tobor_

_ID: M374L-5N1P3R_

_Preferred Name: Sniper_

_Date Created: 12__th__ July_

_Years in Activation: 11 Years_

_Template: Metal Sonic v1.0_

_Badnik Type: Fighter Robot and Stealth Robot (Hybrid)_

_Power Source: ROBOTNIK Custom AI Chip and Regular Electricity_

_Metals Used: Steel-Titanium Alloy (Main Body), Aluminium (Feet)_

_Laser Type: Red Laser (Beam Form)_

_Strength Level (1-10): 5 _

_Iris LED Colour: Orange _

_Special Features: Silencers (Base of Feet), Advanced Mouth, Expressive Face_

_Emergency Shut-Down: Gas or vaccine _

_Recent Note: This badnik is defective. Sentenced to be decommissioned. _

"Defective?" Rotor asked. "Let me take a look at your programming." He then checked Sniper's "Programming" folder. Once seeing the programming, he looked at Sniper. "I think it's the right choice to have you decommissioned," Rotor pinioned. "But it's not up to me to make that decision. I'll need to see what everyone else thinks." He then had a syringe appear from the top of the cylindrical tube, injecting into Sniper's circuits via his chest, causing him to shut down. Sniper remained on his feet due to the wires hold him up.

…

"Nicole, I need to see him – he needs to know I'm alive!" Shard revealed.

"What if he doesn't recognise you?" Nicole questioned.

"I'll explain everything to him once I get to see him," Shard replied. "I must speak to him; I haven't spoken to him for years…"

"I will ask Rotor for you to get you permission to talk to him," Nicole concluded. "I bet he's missed you, too."

Shard then sighed. "I bet he's grown into a harsh, brutal and ruthless killer machine now…" he muttered. "Eggman would've robbed him of his freewill somehow, even though Sniper's defective programming made him impossible to reprogram…"

"If he's impossible to reprogram, Eggman can't have done anything to him," Nicole assured.

"I hope not…" Shard muffled sadly.

"I will go and ask Rotor if you can see him," Nicole informed for a final time before disappearing.

…

Nicole reappeared in Rotor's lab, seeing him about to leave to speak to Sonic and various others.

"Rotor, I need to speak to you about that robot," she began.

"It's just another one of Eggman's badniks, Nicole," Rotor answered before she even brought up a discussion. "He won't do any more damage while he's in his current state."

"That's not exactly what I was going to ask," Nicole responded. "Shard needs to see him."

"He can see him later – right now I need to discuss with the council if I should deactivate him or not, also asking Sonic, of course," Rotor replied, beginning to walk out.

"But…"

"Not now, Nicole," Rotor interrupted, sighing. "I'm just not in the mood to argue." He then left.

Nicole let out a sigh herself. She looked back at the capsule containing Sniper. _'I can't let Shard lose his own brother,' _she thought, heading to the controls. She then allowed the glass around Sniper to drop, next detaching the wires. The silver hedgebot collapsed, and in doing so, he re-awakened.

Sniper jumped to his feet, looking around quickly. "Who are you!" he demanded when seeing Nicole.

"Sniper, calm down," she soothed. "I'm an AI known as Nicole – if you want to get out of here unnoticed, follow me."

"Well, I am built for stealth, so it should be no problem," Sniper shrugged. "But I don't know if I can trust you yet."

"We don't have time for this, now come on," Nicole ordered, walking through the door quite literally.

Sniper followed, but actually opened the door. Nobody saw him, and he saw nobody. However, he could see Nicole waving him over. He followed her silently outside the city into the forest.

"Why are we going in a forest?" Sniper asked.

"You'll see," Nicole replied. She was close to becoming unable to project her lynx form, but she could still just manage to get to Shard.

Shard was pacing around on the spot, waiting for Nicole to return. It seemed to bother him that his brother was being held in a lab. He then saw Nicole with Sniper behind her.

Nicole walked up to him. "I had to help him escape since Rotor wouldn't grant permission," she revealed.

"What's going on? Who is that?" Sniper asked, feeling as if he had been led into a trap.

"Easy, Sniper, I'm not going to hurt you," Shard assured calmly.

"How do you know my name?" Sniper questioned, still suspicious.

"Remember that day when you were younger and your brother was destroyed in Mount Mobius?" Shard reminded.

Sniper turned away sadly. "Yes…" he mumbled.

"He turned good that last second and saved Sonic and Tails," Shard continued. "However, he wasn't fully destroyed. His power gem was still active, making it possible for him to be rebuilt. Now he's a good guy."

"Where is he now?" Sniper asked, turning to look at him, interested.

Shard smiled. "You're looking right at him, lil' bro," he answered, winking.

Sniper facial expression completely changed. It was a mix between shock, disbelief and pure happiness. He took time to react properly, until running p to him and hugging him tightly. If he was a Mobian, he would be crying tears of joy. "Metal, you're alive!" he exclaimed happily.

Shard hugged back, knowing how much Sniper must have missed him. Truthfully, Shard had missed him a lot, too.

Nicole smiled at the two, until realising something, causing her to lose the smile. "How will I explain Sniper going missing to Rotor?" she asked.

The black and yellow hedgebot looked at her. "Tell him that you left him in the capsule and assured that Sniper was not active at the time," he responded.

The projected lynx nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "I will give you two some time alone so you can catch up with each other." Nicole then disappeared again.

Shard then turned his attention to Sniper. "You must've been distraught for a while, huh?" he guessed.

Sniper nodded. "I arrived here to avenge you," he admitted. "…I thought Sonic killed you…"

"It wasn't a bad guess," Shard chuckled. "I mean, back then you wouldn't have expected me to save Sonic's life."

Sniper chuckled with him. "You got that right, Metal," he confirmed.

"Oh, by the way, no one calls me Metal anymore," Shard remembered. "Everyone calls me Shard."

"Shard?" Sniper responded, confused.

"I just prefer to be called that nowadays," Shard excused. "Mainly because I don't want to be compared to Sonic anymore."

"Right," Sniper acknowledged, nodding a little.

Shard then thought about something. "We're gonna have to keep you hidden from the city for a while," he stated. "And I think I know a good place to hide you." He then began heading off in a particular direction.

"Where?" Sniper asked, following.

Shard just smiled cheekily as he replied with: "It's a secret."

…

**That's gotta be the longest prologue I've ever done! XD Anyway, that's the beginning of the story. Well, opening-prelude thingy. I will have theme songs in this, but no theme songs will be repeated from my other stories (maybe one or two but oh well) and I will only add those when I introduce the OCs. By the way, how's the front cover? XD See you next chapter!**


	2. Agent

**~Agent~**

The two robots reached another tree stump. Sniper looked highly confused.

"Here we are!" Shard announced.

"…We're by another tree stump," Sniper corrected. "What's so secret about this?"

"You'll see," Shard grinned, jumping down the hatch.

Sniper looked baffled for a moment before jumping down with him. He found himself in what looked like some kind of headquarters as he left the glass tube.

Shard sealed the secret hatch. "Figured I might as well keep you here. Besides, there's nobody else here at the moment. When the rest of my bosses come back, I'll have to explain a lot to them," he planned. "Just promise me that you won't leave, okay?"

"I promise," Sniper promised.

The older robot smiled at his brother. "I'll be back to check on you tomorrow," he assured, leaving.

"Bye," Sniper waved. After Shard had left, Sniper decided to fall asleep.

…

"So you're saying he was still inside the capsule after you left?" Rotor recapped.

"I'm positively sure, Rotor," Nicole confirmed.

Rotor scratched his head. "He must've gotten out somehow… We're gonna have to go after him just in case he does return to cause more trouble. Even worse – if he tells Eggman anything he may have found out."

Nicole knew she couldn't respond to disagree with him, so simply replied with: "Right…"

"Luckily I planted a tracking device in his system when he got here." Rotor held up a handheld device. "I could give this radar to Sonic so he can track him down." He then got up to his feet. "In the meantime, Nicole, you can just keep a sharp eye for any danger." The walrus then left the lab.

Immediately, Nicole appeared in another room of Rotor's lab, where Shard was recharging himself. "Shard, I've got some bad news!" she informed, sounding like she was… worried.

Shard instantly reactivated himself, jumping up as if he had woken up from a nightmare. "Huh! What happened?" he questioned, also sounding worried.

"Sniper is in the Secret HQ and Sonic will have a tracking radar to find him!" the holographic lynx explained. "He may find out about the Secret Freedom Fighters!"

"Don't tell me that Rotor planted a tracking device inside Sniper…" Shard sighed.

"…Yes, he did," Nicole answered. That's when she realised it. "Of course, we can remove the tracking device!"

Shard face-palmed. "That wasn't so hard to figure out…"

"I'm sorry…" Nicole apologised.

"Don't worry, I forgive you," Shard assured. "It's not something that needs a _major_ apology. I'm gonna go to the HQ and get that device outta Sniper." With that, he began heading to the Secret Freedom HQ.

…

Unknown to Shard and Nicole, Sniper had actually awakened himself shortly after he tried to recharge. He wasn't tired and was also bored, so decided to just take a night's walk. This, however, would be dangerous to him…

As Sniper walked, he was oblivious to the fact that Sonic was tracking him down, having him on his radar. He ran towards the blinking red dot until dead ahead he saw his target. Sniper turned his head and saw him, gasping, but could not react as Sonic performed a Homing Attack, knocking Sniper down.

Since Sniper was caught off guard, he was not ready to fight back, and before he could try anything, Sonic kicked Sniper across the ground and then grabbed him by his arms. He pinned him on his front. Sniper desperately tried to get away.

"Sorry, lil' robot, but you've gotta go," Sonic stated, charging a spin-dash to cut through Sniper's armour.

The silver hedgebot struggled violently, feeling pain in his own way, until he threw Sonic off him. He staggered back up to his feet.

Sonic stood up again after he had been thrown off. "I hate to do this to ya, but in the end, you're just another of Eggman's robots – you don't have hopes or dreams."

Sniper backed off slowly, until suddenly…

ZAP!

A laser went directly through him from his back engine to his chest. The kid-bot gasped, stumbling a little, until Sonic finally performed a final Homing Attack to knock him down. He saw who had fired the laser – it was Rotor.

"I'm not too keen on guns, but it was right to use one just then," he stated.

"Nice one, Rote," Sonic complimented, giving him a 'thumbs-up' and his usual grin.

Sniper lay on the floor twitching, unable to get up. He felt his chest to feel if his main chip was broken. Luckily it wasn't, but he suddenly just deactivated.

Shard flew to the scene, seeing that he was too late. He didn't want to be seen by the other two, so stayed behind a tree until they left. Once they had left the area, he immediately ran to Sniper.

The black and yellow hedgebot scanned his brother, seeing that his damage was highly critical. As an instant reaction, Shard lifted Sniper up and headed back into the Secret HQ.

When entering, Shard saw Harvey Who inside, talking with Sonic's Uncle Chuck. The wise owl, upon seeing Shard with Sniper, had a concerned and confused expression. "What brings you here at this time, Shard?" he asked.

"Boss, please forgive me, but I was using this place to hide my younger brother," Shard admitted. "But he just got himself seriously damaged! Please, I have to help him!"

"You're brother… Sniper, if I recall, correct?" Harvey asked.

"Yes," Shard replied.

Harvey sighed. "You may as well keep him hidden once he gets repaired," he stated. "But I suppose if that's going to be the case, there'll be no utter horror in recruiting him as part of the Secret Freedom Fighters."

"What? No, he can't join us – he's too young and inexperienced," Shard disagreed.

"I know a lot about his unique behaviour, Shard," Harvey confirmed. "He may be considered as a defective machine by the doctor, but his flaws have led him to be more advanced. I know he does not lack in confidence – he could be useful. It also gives him something to do rather than sitting in the HQ all the time. I promise you, he can get involved with us, and if he starts to show signs of being too clumsy, I can send him on minor missions separate to you and a couple of training courses until he is ready."

"I suppose it does sound like the best offer for him in this current situation…" Shard acknowledged, thinking for a moment before making up his mind. "…Alright. It's the best option to keep him hidden and alive."

Harvey then turned to Uncle Chuck, or in other words, Sir Charles. "Charles, remember the second body you built in case Shard became damaged beyond repair?" he asked.

"Yes," Charles recalled.

"Wait, what?" Shard questioned, unaware of the said object.

"I need you to acquire some data from that body to upgrade Sniper so that he's up-to-date with the current situations," Harvey commanded. "He needs to withstand more damage than what he has just taken."

"I'll see if my newest upgrading machine will work," Charles stated.

"Let me guess, another thing intended for me?" Shard asked, frowning almost.

"…I suppose it was intended for you, but not entirely," Charles answered.

"I'm the only robot on the team," Shard reminded.

"Just in case any other robot I built in the future needed an upgrade, and of course, if you needed one," Charles admitted. "It works for repairs, too. Thing is, it doesn't quite repair vital areas such as the power source. I'm still working on that."

"Well it's lucky that Sniper's computer chip didn't get damaged, isn't it?" Shard finalized. "But his life data is fading fast despite the fact that his chip is still intact."

Charles then carefully took Sniper out of Shard's arms. "I'll just see if I can successfully help him," he clarified, walking through to his area where he did most of his work. He placed Sniper inside a glass cylindrical chamber linked up to a complex looking machine. Once he had done that, he retrieved Shard's second body which he had created.

Shard just folded his arms. "Thank you for assuming I'd get myself destroyed so easily," he thanked sarcastically.

Charles simply ignored him as he linked the body up to the machine with some wires. Once it was hooked up, the data transferring began as a red scanner scanned up and down Sniper's body before calculating the repairs and upgrades needed.

_(Cue music: watch?v=C1y8bq_2X2g)_

The electricity, which began to flow through Sniper softly, caused his body to slowly rise up to his feet while remaining deactive. The electric energy then began picking up power and speed as it continued to flow through him, his hands beginning to twitch as if he was awakening. The surge of energy made his hand twitch more vigorously and his blank facial expression pull a look as if feeling that something was happening. That was when Sniper started to glow, until a bright white light shone like a supernova, almost blinding Harvey and Charles while damaging Shard's optic sensors for a moment.

Sniper's body tensed during this occurrence, all of his damaged areas sealing up while his body, besides his head, turned black. His belt was black, too, but his shoulder pads turned yellow with a dark grey rim. His hand-plating turned yellow and half of his fingers turned black as his shoes gained black stripes while remaining their chrome colour, yellow rings painted near his wrists and a yellow pattern on the inside of his lower legs. His orange irises began to flicker to life as the light brightened even more for a millisecond, until Sniper remained standing in the capsule with his head down. He looked up and clenched his fists, smiling in his usual arrogant way.

Charles allowed the capsule to open, letting Sniper step out of the chamber. He stretched out, feeling refreshed and awake as he looked to the others who stood in front of him.

"How do you feel, Sniper?" Shard asked.

"I feel more… useful," Sniper described as an answer.

"You should do," Harvey stated, getting Sniper's attention. "I'm recruiting you as part of the Secret Freedom Fighters, Sniper. Or should I say, Secret Agent Tarot."

"Sounds like a cool call-sign," Sniper agreed.

"Suits you," Shard pinioned, grinning a little.

Harvey chuckled a little. "Welcome to the team, Agent Tarot."

…

**Sorry I keep taking time to update my stories, but here's the second chapter at last! I'm going to link to other music besides Sonic music, by the way, but that does NOT mean you have to immediately think: 'Oh, she's going to link to music that I've never heard' because I'll link to famous games, not-so-famous games, retro games, new games, and even movies! Plus, I do take time to try and make the timing roughly accurate when I ask you to play it while reading. Keep reading until the music ends! That's how I roll XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please remember to review so far!**


	3. Friend

**~Friend~**

Overnight Sniper had in the HQ after he had been repaired and upgraded. Currently he was awake, looking in the mirror at himself. _'Same good looks, same attractive face,' _he though arrogantly, grinning at his reflection as he posed a little.

The refreshed robot looked around. He was… bored. Nobody was here except for him. There was nothing to do, until he could hear a faint crying coming from the land above.

Without realising that he could put the secret of the HQ in danger, Sniper left through the tree stump exit. Thankfully he wasn't seen, but he did see a grey hedgehog crying into her hands as she leaned against another tree while sitting on the grassy ground.

Slowly, Sniper approached her. "Hey…" he began softly.

The grey hedgehog female looked up with her green eyes, looking horrified when seeing Sniper. "No, stay away from me!" she cried, shuffling away.

"Hey, wait, it's okay…" Sniper hushed softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you…"

"You're the one who terrorised the city – you're like all the other robots!" the hedgehog argued.

"That is a long story," Sniper confirmed. "But I'm not a destructive machine. I'm a good guy now. The reason I came up here is because I heard you crying. What's the matter?"

"You'll tease me like everyone else does…" the female hedgehog predicted.

"No, I won't," Sniper assured, crouching down to her level. "I've never been that nasty – not even when I was on Eggman's side."

The organic looked down as she sniffled. "I miss my parents…" she admitted shamefully.

"Have they gone on holiday?" Sniper asked.

The other shook her head. "When the army of Metal Sonic Troopers turned against the city, my home was invaded by one of the troopers. He… He killed my parents…" She let some more tears shed as she cried silently.

"Hey, don't cry…" Sniper could only react, not used to comforting others.

"I've been living in my house all alone…!" the female hedgehog continued, sniffling.

"You should tell someone," Sniper suggested. "You're only about… ten or so, aren't you?"

"Eleven…" the hedgehog corrected.

"Exactly," Sniper responded. "You're too young to live on your own."

"But I have nowhere to go…" the grey Mobian pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Sniper assured, helping her up to her feet. "I have a few issues myself, but I can still figure something out for you."

"What's your problem…?" she asked.

Sniper sighed. "I'm supposed to stay hidden… but in my hidden place I get bored easily. I don't particularly like being on my own, either," he admitted.

"Why do you need to keep hidden…?" she questioned, still sounding a little sad.

"It's a long story…" Sniper muttered shamefully, looking down.

"You could be trying to kill me like how that trooper killed my parents…" the Mobian theorized.

"If I was trying to kill you, I'd know your name," Sniper stated. "I don't have a list of targets, though."

"My name is Cheryl," the hedgehog, known as Cheryl, introduced. "Does that ring a bell?"

Sniper thought, but then shook his head. "Nope."

"You're probably lying…" Cheryl mumbled.

"I'm not," Sniper countered. "Why would I want to kill you, anyway? I may have been considered as "evil" in the past, but I've never hurt anyone, let alone kill anyone…"

"Still, you're a robot – you're programmed to do a certain job," Cheryl noted.

"Nuh-uh," Sniper argued. "I've got freewill. That means I think for myself, making most other machines dunces compared to me."

"A robot which can think?" Cheryl repeated, sounding shocked. "There's not many like that, is there?"

"Dunno," Sniper shrugged. "There probably isn't."

"How many robots like that do you know?" Cheryl queried.

The metallic hedgehog thought before shrugging. "A few."

"Could you name some of them?" Cheryl asked.

"Well, there's my older brother, Shard," Sniper began. "And I did know a robot called EMMI who had freewill. Dunno what happened to her, though."

"Are they the only ones you know?" questioned Cheryl.

"…Yeah…" Sniper admitted.

Cheryl laughed a little.

Sniper then picked up the sound of Shard's thrusters. "I'd better go back to where I was supposed to be," he announced.

"I'll see you again, right?" Cheryl asked.

Sniper smiled. "You will do," he assured. "I'll tell my brother and my team about your problem and they'll find something to do with you. In the meantime, you'd better hold on to yourself." He then ran off back to the tree stump and jumped down it, entering the base again.

…

Shortly afterwards, Shard had arrived. "Hey, bro, you still here?" he called.

"Yeah, I'm here," Sniper responded, leaving the other room to greet his brother.

"Bad news, Snipes. Some dudes from Moebius are here to cause trouble. We've gotta get up there and do something," Shard informed. "However, you've got to be unseen when you attack."

"You mean I get to do something already?" Sniper excitably questioned.

"Yes, but try not to let anyone see you," Shard repeated. "If you get seen, accusations will be made against me and they'll deactivate you."

"Bro, you should know by now that I was built for stealth and speed," Sniper grinned. "I'll be fine."

"Okay then, bro, let's go!" Shard announced, heading for the exit.

"Wait, Shard, I need to ask you something," Sniper remembered.

"What is it, Sniper?" Shard responded, turning around and stopping to listen.

"…Never mind," Sniper decided. If he mentioned about Cheryl, Shard would immediately know that he had been out of the base. "Let's just go and get those guys." He and Shard then left the base.

_**...**_

**Sorry for the long wait and double sorry if this chapter is boring and makes no sense. I'm trying to kick the plot up a little bit and I still need to introduce other characters before listing their themes and theme songs. By the way, if any of you are reading 'Sonic OVA 3: The Rise of Mecha Sonic', do you think I should include Metallix from that story in this story at some point? If so, please tell me via review or PM. I've got plenty to be cracking on with and a few new OCs to include who might be interesting. I'll see you next chapter!**


	4. Twin

**~Twin~**

Shard and Sniper arrived at the scene. Sniper, of course, stayed hidden while Shard went to fight alongside Sonic.

"Let me guess. Scourge again?" Shard asked Sonic.

"Yup," Sonic answered. "We've already dealt with his team before you got here – now it's just him."

"Pfft. He's got no chance," he laughed.

"Then let's get him!" Sonic then ran at Scourge, followed by Shard.

…

Sniper was stood whistling, getting a bit bored already. However, he saw someone behind a tree, watching the fight. It was another robot, looking awfully similar to him. The rookie agent robot narrowed his eyes, rushing through the battle and to the tree, tackling down whoever was behind it. He didn't realise that Sonic had noticed him.

"Who are you!" Sniper demanded.

The robot beneath him flinched.

"Answer me!" Sniper commanded.

"F-F-Flash!" the 'bot responded. "My name is Flash!" Flash looked just like Sniper did before he had his body changed to look like he was wearing a battle suit, also being a darker shade of chrome. His irises were light blue and the golden lightning bolt on his chest was reversed. Also, he was not wearing a belt.

Sniper allowed Flash to stand up as he too got on his feet. "Okay then, Flash, what are you doing here?" he interrogated.

"Scourge and his team were coming to cause trouble, so I followed them to try and stop them!" Flash answered hurriedly. "I wasn't built to fight, I was built for peace! I couldn't even inflict any pain on any of them!"

"Man, you really are useless," Sniper snickered.

"Hey! It's not my fault I was built to protect the environment!" Flash countered, feeling insulted.

"I was built to be evil, but I'm not evil," Sniper shrugged. "You can always go against your programming."

"I don't want to go against my programming," Flash replied plainly. "I like being the way I am."

"Right, you can just go home now. We've got everything under control here," Sniper confirmed, turning around.

Flash sighed. "Okay… After you've taken Scourge down I'll go back and take him with me."

"Yeah, you do that," Sniper responded. "We'll make sure he's unconscious." Just as he said that he saw Scourge get kicked into another tree nearby, getting knocked out. "…He's down. Now go and take him with you and make sure he doesn't come back here for a long time."

"I-I'll try…" Flash stuttered nervously.

Sniper tilted his head. "Why are you so nervy?" he asked.

"I don't know…" Flash answered. "I get scared easily…"

"BOO!" Sniper yelled. Flash yelped and jumped into his arms, quivering with fear. Sniper was just laughing his head off.

"That's not funny!" Flash scolded, looking embarrassed as he jumped out of Sniper's arms.

"Sorry, I just had to do it," Sniper responded, trying to calm down his laughter. If he was Mobian, he'd be wiping a tear from his eye due to his hard laughing. He then looked in the corner of his eye and saw Cheryl on the other side of where the fight had just taken place. "Cheryl…" he said quietly to himself, turning to Flash. "Be right back," he stated, rushing to Cheryl.

"Cheryl, what are you doing it?" Sniper asked her.

"I heard fighting," Cheryl answered. "Then I saw you. I was worried…"

"Don't worry, everything's been taken care of," Sniper assured.

"You!" Sonic could be heard exclaiming. Sniper turned around, seeing the blue hedgehog marching towards him. He frowned and almost seemed to be standing in a defence position.

"I thought I destroyed you!" Sonic continued.

"Well, you didn't. Too bad," Sniper replied, sticking his metallic tongue out.

Sonic growled. "Now you're gonna get it!" Before he and Sniper could get into a squabble, Shard skidded between them both.

"Hey, guys, chill out!" he commanded, looking at Sonic. "I brought Sniper back, Sonic. He's my lil' bro; I don't want to lose him. He was just upset from losing me, that's all."

Again, Sonic growled. "Fine, he can get his chance," he finalized. "But if he tries anything, he can take a trip to the scrapheap." He then sped off.

Shard turned to Sniper, folding his arms and frowning. "'Built for stealth' you said. 'I'm the master at keeping hidden' you said," he quoted.

Sniper chuckled nervously. "H-Hey, I got distracted," he excused.

"Right…" Shard responded. He then noticed Cheryl. "Hey, who's this? A friend? More than a friend?" Shard grinned cheekily when he guessed the last part.

"No!" Sniper shot back, embarrassed. "Just a friend. And she needs help – she's been living on her own ever since her parents were killed by a Metal Sonic Trooper."

"Nicole can figure something out," Shard assured. "She's quite smart…" He then sighed happily. "I've never seen an AI like her anywhere else…"

Sniper couldn't help but fall on the floor and roll around laughing.

Shard snapped out of his little daydream. "Hey! I-I didn't mean that… I wasn't trying to say… What I meant was…!" he stuttered.

"Shard's got a crush, Shard's got a crush~!" Sniper sang.

Shard's metallic muzzle went red a little as he growled quietly. However, everyone there was too busy to notice that they were being watched…

Standing on a rock in the shadows of the trees in the night's darkness was a red-eyed robot, staring right at the few. His silhouette showed that he was a similar design to Shard, but when the clouds in the sky cleared, the moonlight shone onto him only slightly. He was an indigo colour, but his arms were silver. He had a yellow power gem shard in his chest and red, pointed shoes, along with a mouth. His left arm was fitted with an arm cannon, which he aimed at the group…

And…

He fired.

_(Cue music: watch?v=2HX-KiYN7WA)_

A laser hit between Shard, Sniper and Cheryl, causing the three to dive down, Sniper covering Cheryl to protect her. They all looked back, seeing the hedgebot fly towards them, landing on his feet. Again he aimed his cannon, this time firing much quicker. The laser went towards Sniper and Cheryl, but Shard jumped and grabbed them both, flying out of the way and placing them down.

"Shard, who is that?" Sniper asked, panicking. "Why does he look like…"

"My old body?" Shard finished. "I'm wondering that myself. Get Cheryl to safety and back me up!"

Sniper nodded, helping Cheryl up and running off with her.

Shard turned his attention to the other hedgebot. "Who are you!" he demanded, aiming at the blue hedgebot as the two had a standoff.

The other robot didn't reply, but just stood there, waiting for Shard to make a move. As he expected Shard fired at him, but he flew to the side at Sonic speed and fired his own attack at Shard, catching him in the side and knocking him down.

"Argh!" Shard grunted as he fell. He looked up, seeing his counterpart walk up to the side of him, aiming at his head with his arm cannon.

Sniper ran up silently behind the metal hedgehog, jumping up, ready to strike. However, the Robian didn't even need to look at him as he fired the charged laser at the young robot. Sniper was sent flying back into a tree.

Shard swept the other off balance, jumping up to his feet and firing at him, but the blue robot moved. Shard wrestled him, attempting to grab the power gem in his chest. The other machine shot Shard in the leg, causing him to fall over.

"Shard!" Sniper yelled.

The other robot turned and walked towards the kid-bot, stopping a few feet away, he aimed again.

Shard saw his younger brother in peril, standing up slowly as he carefully aimed at his opponent. "Get away from my brother, you piece of scrap!" he yelled, firing,

The metallic Mobian turned his head, seeing the laser heading towards him. He had no time to move before he was hit in the chest, causing him to fall down onto his back, eyes flickering off.

…

Sniper stood up. "…Thanks, bro," he thanked.

"No problem," Shard replied as he knelt beside the shut down 'bot. "He's not permanently deactive. We could use him for something, though. He might supply us with information."

"Yeah, or he'll kill us," Sniper countered.

"I'll make sure none of that happens," Shard assured. "We'll outnumber him. He wouldn't stand a chance."

"Fine, I trust you…" Sniper sighed. He then saw Flash picking up Scourge. Flash smiled slightly and waved at him as he opened up a rift to his world (an ability he was given so he could chase down Scourge or any other threats to Moebius). In response, Sniper waved back. Flash then jumped through the rift, the rift then closing after he went through.

Shard lifted his look-alike up, throwing him over his shoulder. "Come on, we're off back to HQ," he confirmed. "Charles can look at this guy while I call a meeting."

"You can do that?" Sniper questioned.

"Yeah, anyone can in the team if it's important," Shard replied. "Now let's go. By the way, we're gonna have to call each other by our call-signs in case he picks up our conversations."

"Okay," Sniper responded, walking with his older brother.

…

**I was going to have this guy appear later, but oh well. I'm trying to catch up with this, but I didn't know if it was day or night, so I just guessed it was night time. If it wasn't… then it doesn't matter. Let's just say it was evening in the third chapter and now it's night! :D**


End file.
